Words I Can't Say
by WaterLily95
Summary: Kevin and Mike must face their ultimate challenge yet to win their loves... poetry! Who knew it wasn't as easy as battling nighlok?
1. Poetry?

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai/ Super Samurai._**

* * *

 **Poetry?**

"I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death." _*_ _1_

Mia sighed dreamily and leaned her head against the couch. Her hand flew to her chest to ease her excited chills and to calm down her awestruck palpitations. "How _beautiful_!"

Emily looked up from her laptop screen with a huge smile on her face. "I know, right? Elizabeth Barrett Browning's the best."

"I admit I read a lot of poetry in my free time," Lauren said as she got up from the couch and stretched for a little while. "But I don't read romantic ones. They've just never appealed to me."

"And now?" Emily smiled, scrolling down the list of famous love poems.

"They _are_ pretty cute if you think about it."

Mike yawned as he finished the board game and beat Kevin. "Fifth time in a row. Hand over the money."

"You cheated," Kevin protested. "You went when it was my turn _twice_."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say. Hand over the money, Kevvy."

"Don't call me that!"

"Hand. It. Over. Kevvy."

Kevin irritably reached into his pocket, pulling out a five dollar bill and slapping it on the table.

"Maybe next time, bud," Mike smiled evilly. "Let's go again."

"Boys will be boys," Lauren smiled as the dragon zord nudged the bear zord in frustration. "Emily, look up some more poems."

Emily began scrolling down the webpage and smiled as she skimmed over the contents. She ushered Mia to sit next to her, her eyes sparkling. "Read this quote, guys. This one's so cute!"

"I loved her not for the way she danced with my angels but for the way the sound of her name could silence my demons." _*_ _2_

It didn't take long for Mia and Emily to start swooning over the laptop screen. Lauren sighed contently and watched the two female rangers' amusement.

"The _feels_!" Emily squealed.

The boys looked up from their intense board game as Mia and Emily continued to giggle and lean onto each other.

"What's with them?" Mike asked as Kevin set up the board game again. "They're into poetry now?"

" _Romantic_ poetry," Kevin corrected him. "You know how Mia is with anything that deals with romance."

"And you know how enthusiastic Em can be. Now they're dragging Lauren into the craze with them," Mike said, shaking his head and rolling the dice. " _Booyah_! Woah, that was quick. You're a sore loser, Kev."

"Here's a pretty funny one," Mia said, clicking on a quote.

"Deep in my heart, I know my future soul mate is not waiting for me online." _*_ _3_

"That's... interesting," Lauren said, scrolling down for similar quotes. Emily simply laughed.

The boys sighed. Even though they both felt romantic poetry was ridiculous, they couldn't help smiling. Kevin didn't object to hear Mia's laughter, and Mike frankly thought Emily's squeals were cute.

"Em has the cutest laugh-"

"Don't start, Mike."

"Fine."

"You guys seem like you would fall for poets easily," Lauren told the girls.

Emily hugged a nearby pillow close to her chest. "I would _love_ to marry a poet someday. Or at least someone who's good with words."

Mike felt queasy. He may be funny, and he may have the strength to tick off Kevin or occasionally rebel against what Mentor has to say, but he wasn't a poet. He couldn't think of anything romantic even if his life depended on it. Kevin tried to hold back his laugh as the "mighty green" looked like he got hit by a train.

"She wants to marry a _poet_?" Mike whispered in disbelief. "What happened to the demand for funny, rebellious guys in society?"

"I guess girls are looking for Shakespeares nowadays," Kevin remarked.

"I don't necessarily need to marry a poet," Mia said. "But I want my Prince Charming to at least attempt poetry sometimes. Especially funny and creative ones."

Kevin's smile disintegrated. It was his turn to feel queasy. He wasn't funny at all; he's usually the one who ends up being laughed at out of anything stupid Mike does to him (like dressing him up in tutus whenever he gets the chance). Not to mention, the only words the blue ranger was even _okay_ at using were ones associated with teaching someone a training technique or reciting a boring quote from his "Life of a Samurai" book.

"So that means you're not exactly Shakespeare, either," Mike murmured to Kevin, inwardly still perturbed despite taking a moment to smirk at the disappointed blue ranger.

The Shiba house front door flew open as a drenched gold ranger sabotaged the dry atmosphere. Raindrops dripped from his entire body and seemed to leak incessantly from the bucket of fish he held. He shook his wet hair, spraying water everywhere.

"That was intense rain right there-"

"Antonio! Come translate this Spanish quote real quick," Emily called.

Mike facepalmed.

"What are you guys doing?" The gold knelt down a few feet away from the girls, grabbing a nearby towel and drying his hair in the process. "Romantic love poems? _Seriously_?"

"What? They're cute," Lauren said.

" _You_ think they're cute?"

"What? I may be the leader's sister, but I'm still a girl."

Antonio sighed. "99.9 percent of these poets are guys." The gold ranger took a moment to smirk at Mike and Kevin. "It's a shame some people aren't doing anything about it."

The boys fumed.

Mia frowned. "Who are you talking to?"

"They know who they are," the gold ranger said, his smirk widening. Lauren stole a look at Mike and Kevin and raised her eyebrows knowingly. Their expressions were simply priceless.

"Translate," Emily urged.

" _Fine_. Uh…"

"This one over here," Mia pointed eagerly.

"Okay okay… En un beso sabrás todo lo que he callado. _*4_ In a kiss, you will know everything that I have kept silent-"

" _Awwwww_!" Mia and Emily squealed.

Antonio raised his eyebrows, not too amused. "O-kay…"

Lauren smiled but couldn't resist saying, "Alright, you two might want to calm down a little." She glanced at the boys knowingly. "You might make some people jealous."

Kevin rolled his eyes, trying to be nonchalant, but he found his cheeks growing warm.

"Those poets can't be _that_ good."

Lauren, Mia, Emily, and Antonio looked at Mike. Kevin's eyes widened as the green ranger stood up, refolding his bear zord back to its original shape.

"Yep, you heard me."

" _Mike_ -" Kevin began.

"What? I'm being serious. Anybody can write poetry without trying. I can write one in seconds. _Seconds_. That doesn't mean only poets make the best husbands." He glanced at Emily mischievously. "Does it, Em?"

Emily couldn't resist a small grin. She could clearly see Mike's intention, but she didn't expect him to make his feelings this public.

"Go back to your board games, Mike," Lauren said dismissively. "This is poetry, not a video game for you to win easily."

"Go easy on him, Lauren. You know how Mike is," Emily said, smirking. "I think he still hasn't forgotten the time when you beat him badly in the sparring session."

Mike was flustered. "That's different!"

"Leave that aside. When was the last time you two even wrote a poem?" Lauren questioned.

"Kevin practically writes one every day," Mike said confidently as Kevin nudged him cautiously.

"When did I ever-?"

"He recites them every day in his dreams. His _romantic_ dreams. Don't you, Kev?"

For a brief moment, Kevin and Mia locked their gazes. They both blushed.

"No I don-"

Mike jammed his foot on Kevin's to silence him. "That's a yes."

"OW!"

" _Really_?" Lauren crossed her arms. "You want to try writing one again, Kevin?"

Kevin's eyes widened. "Well…uh…"

"A _romantic_ one," Lauren said.

"I-it won't be too good-"

"Of course it will, Kevvy," Mike grinned. "I'm sure Mia will like it no matter what."

Mia's cheeks crimsoned deeper. Kevin nudged Mike harder to quit.

"And I think Mike would like to give it a try, too," Emily suggested. "Since he's so confident that _anyone_ can be a poet."

"Let's call a bet, shall we?" Antonio said, enjoying the banter.

"I can do that," Mike retorted. "I bet Kevin and I can write romantic poems _better_ than all the ones you ladies have read."

"Don't get me involved, Mike-"

"You're involved."

"But-"

"Sounds good to us," Lauren said. "But you can't get any help from others or each other."

"What's going on here?" Jayden interrupted them, calligraphy brush in hand.

"Or from my brother," Lauren added.

"What from me?" Jayden inquired. "What is this?"

Lauren was very tempted to play the part of a matchmaker in this bet and added, "But to make your poems truly romantic, Mike must write one for Emily and Kevin must write one for Mia."

Antonio choked on air. Emily and Mia glanced at each other nervously, blushing beet red. Mike and Kevin avoided the girls' stares the best they could. Jayden smirked as he realized the entire deal.

"What's in it for us if you guys lose?" Lauren asked.

Mike scoffed. "We're not gonna _lose_ -"

"What if you do?"

"We'll do all the dishes for the next week and…" he sighed helplessly. "We'll even pay for your shopping expenses."

" _Mike_!" Kevin said. His eyes just couldn't get wider.

"We're not gonna lose, Kev."

Lauren smiled victoriously. "And if _we_ lose…well, we _know_ we're not gonna lose."

"Hey!"

"Good luck!" the girls said simultaneously, immediately handing the guys some paper and pens.

"This will be interesting," Jayden whispered to Antonio. "You think we should mess with them?"

"Oh, amigo, I'm making plans already."

* * *

 _*1- Last four lines of "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning_

 _*2- Quote by Christopher Pointdexter_

 _*3- Quote by Liz Tuccillo_

 _*4- Quote by Pablo Neruda_


	2. Failed Firsts

**Failed Firsts**

"You have anything written down?"

The blue ranger shook his head. "Nope."

…

"How 'bout now?"

"No."

…

"Now?"

Kevin couldn't resist giving Mike a long, irritated stare as he drummed his fingers impatiently against the garden bench. The green ranger went back doodling a picture of a nearby tree on his paper.

"You _had_ to make that bet, didn't you?"

Sunlight danced on Mike's face and displayed his grimace into the open. "We'll figure something out-"

"It's no surprise if you set this whole bet thing up," Kevin muttered. "Xandred's defeated, and we'll be leaving the Shiba house next week. You need to pull off your ultimate prank at _some_ point."

Mike scoffed. "I got myself into this, too, you know. And besides, you should be thanking me."

"Oh yeah? For what?"

"For giving you the chance to tell Mia how you feel at least _now._ It's obvious she cares for you and you care for her. You know how annoying it is to see you two act like there's nothing between you?"

"So you're saying you did all this for me? Yeah _right_. It was all for _your_ benefit; this bet was the perfect stage for you to admit your feelings on."

"This has nothing to do with my feelings for Emily."

Kevin shot him a look.

"Fine, maybe it does." Mike set down his doodles. "Maybe it was just the freakish desire to impress Emily in every way I can. You can even call it jealousy 'cause she's so easily charmed by some random wordsmith. I wanted to do something, but not alone."

"Do what you want, Mike," Kevin said. "But I am _not_ going to make a fool of myself in front of Mia."

Kevin groaned and played around with his pen absentmindedly. His voice softened. "If you really wanted to tell Emily about your feelings, you could have just told her separately than make it public by setting up a bet and dragging me into the process."

"I-"

"And thanks to you, I now have to summon my nonexisting creative side."

"Say what you want," Mike said, going back to his doodles. "But don't you _dare_ say you completely hate this idea. You know you won't be successful at confessing to Mia in any other way."

"I absolutely _loathe_ -" he paused. Mike was right. Even though he wasn't as rebellious as the green ranger was, he certainly felt the same way. And it wasn't like he had a way with words.

" _Told_ ya."

"But I still would have told Mia at some point," Kevin defended.

"When? By the time you're both single and sixty?"

" _No_."

"Hello, honorable poets."

The boys looked up to see Lauren smiling down at them in victory.

"Obviously you guys are done since you only take seconds to write a poem."

"We're working on it," the green ranger remarked. "Everyday poems take seconds, but it takes more time for great minds like us to write poems that will blow away your minds."

"Don't listen to him, Lauren," Kevin said. "I just want to qui-"

"No you don't," Mike jammed his foot onto Kevin's.

"OW!"

Lauren raised her eyebrows. "In that case, let me sneak a peek at your award-winning works."

The female red ranger loomed over Mike's page. She tried hard to suppress her laughter.

"I guess you're really inspired," she taunted Mike. "This has got to be the best poem I've ever seen… _drawn_ …" She glanced over Kevin's blank page. "And of course, the best feelings are not meant be inscribed anyway. Clearly Kevin is going to win with his blank page."

Mike grew flustered. Kevin facepalmed in defeat.

"And besides, you're breaking the most important rule of the bet," she reminded them. "No helping each other."

"In that case," Kevin stood up. "I want to be as far away from this guy as possible."

And with that, the blue ranger left to the other side of the garden.

Lauren shrugged her shoulders and smirked. "Looks like you're on your own, Mike."

Mike sighed and watched his buddy storm off. "You can thank me later, Kevvy!"

* * *

Emily ran her fingers over the pillow she placed over her crossed legs. Her blonde curls were draped over her face as she leaned absentmindedly against the couch. She couldn't help wonder what Mike would be writing about.

What about her personality did he find attractive?

"I wonder how Mike's poem is coming along."

"He must be struggling," Mia laughed. "You know how he can be at times."

"I have a feeling Kevin will have the cheesier poem, though," Emily smiled. "He may not look like it, but he can be really sweet and cheesy. Especially when he's dealing with anything that involves you."

Mia blushed, grabbing her stuffed panda and cuddling with it. "I guess it won't be too big of a surprise if he does."

"Think about it," Emily smirked. "You didn't even have to tell him that pandas were your favorite animal and _poof_! He gets you a huge stuffed one for your birthday."

"Mike isn't any less," Mia said, smirking as well. "Remember how he got you a flute last Christmas? And that sweet note he gave you afterwards?"

Emily's cheeks grew warm. "As fun as it is to watch them struggle so much, the poor boys are probably having a hard time."

"Oh, _please_. You two make it seem like they're waging a war for you or something," Lauren remarked, sitting next to Mia on the couch opposite from Emily.

"How are they coming along?" Mia wondered.

"Beautifully," Lauren said sarcastically. "Mike is doodling trees and Kevin hasn't even made a mark on his paper yet."

"I feel bad for him," Mia admitted. "As flattering as this whole poetry thing sounds, I don't want him to be embarrassed or anything."

"Look at Cinderella defending her Prince Charming," Emily chuckled.

Lauren's sarcasm softened. She placed her hand on the pink ranger's shoulder.

"It's now or never, Mia. We all know he isn't going to admit his feelings for you. He needs help, and that's just what this bet is going to do."

She glanced at Emily next. "And the same thing goes for you, too, Em. We all know how Mike is." She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the couch. "It's not always fun to like somebody from afar and not tell them about it."

"You seem like you speak from experience," Mia said.

Lauren looked away, twiddling with her fingers. "That's… how I feel about Noah."

Mia and Emily briefly exchanged knowing looks.

"Noah…?" Emily asked.

Lauren shook her head. "Forget I said that."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Lauren," Mia said in concern. "We're just glad you could open up to us."

Lauren sighed softly. "Noah. He's my martial arts trainer's son." Her eyes shone brightly as she spoke his name. "He's my best friend, but he's just that. He probably doesn't feel the same way I do."

"You never know unless you tell him," Emily said.

Mia squeezed Lauren's hand assuringly. She didn't need to say much for Lauren to understand her message. The female red ranger nodded.

"I have to tell him…and I will… but I have to get you two hooked up first. Your love stories are more obvious and… annoying, no offense… than mine."

"Annoying?" Emily said.

"I mean, it's about time you couples got together. Even _I_ can tell and I've only been here for less than two weeks. It's a miracle how Jayden dealt with all of this."

Emily hugged her pillow close to her chest. Mia held onto her panda more tightly. Both rangers had hopeful sparkles in their eyes.

"Just wait for a little while longer," Lauren smirked. "You ladies can cuddle with your guys rather than pillows and panda bears."

"Lauren!"

"Just saying."

* * *

"I got one! I _finally_ got an idea."

Kevin looked up to see the green ranger hurrying towards him. "I highly doubt it."

"You haven't even read it yet." Mike excitedly thrust his paper in Kevin's hands. "Read it."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

 _If life was Super Mario,_

 _You'd be my Princess Peach-_

 _Beautiful and bubbly_

 _But really hard to reach._

 _You and me, we'll fight_

 _Against Bowsers of any kind._

 _We'd be the most successful_

 _In all kingdoms known to mankind._

"Pretty snazzy, isn't it?"

Kevin simply stared at the poem.

"I get it," the green ranger smiled. "You're amazed at my skills. But I have an idea for you, too." He leaned forward and whispered, "You can write one about Luigi. You know, Mario's brother? His girlfriend's Daisy by the way."

Kevin stared at Mike for another tense moment before he burst out laughing. He slapped the side of the bench, laughed, reread the poem, and laughed again. Mike glowered at him.

"You… call this… a poem?" Kevin said between yelps of laughter. "It's… _pathetic_!"

"It took me an entire _hour_ to write eight lines. _Eight lines_. It is _not_ pathetic-"

"But… I have to say… this is _definitely_ like you, Mike."

Mike pouted as the blue samurai continued to double over from laughter. He snatched his poem from Kevin's hands. "I know _your_ poem won't be any better."

"At least it's no based off of a childish cartoon," Kevin said, moaning and gasping for breath as he tried to contain himself. "Whoa… I've never laughed so hard in my life. _This_ is what you call romance?"

Mike snatched another piece of paper from Kevin's hands. This time, it was the blue ranger's poem.

"Hey! I'm not done yet!"

"You're laughing so hard at mine, aren't you? It's my turn to laugh now," Mike said, skimming over the contents.

 _If you were a box of chocolates,_

 _You'd be my caramel._

 _My salty self is yours_

 _Like the Beast to his Belle._

 _Together, we're like rainbows and sunshine_

 _And as close as sweetness and honey._

 _We'll be the perfect combo,_

 _More perfect than Pixar and Disney._

The green ranger felt a lump in his throat. "This is…well…better than mine…"

"I _told_ you," Kevin snatched his paper back.

"But it's definitely stupid if you ask me," Mike retorted. "You skipped all over the place. From chocolate to weather to food to Pixar and Disney."

Kevin shrugged. "She once mentioned she liked chocolate and Beauty and the Beast..."

"But that doesn't mean your poem has to have all those," Mike said. "She'll think you ran out of ideas."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Kevin asked, crumpling up his paper. Even though it didn't make sense for him to get so frustrated over something so insignificant, he couldn't help it.

"Write something that will sweep her off of her feet," Mike suggested.

"And how do I do that? I can't be creative like you."

Mike smirked and crossed his arms. "Was that a _compliment_?"

"Not now."

"Fine."

Kevin took a seat back on the bench and rubbed his eyes. "I feel like we're getting too worked up over nothing."

"Try saying that to Lauren, dude," Mike murmured.

He received a glare in response.

"Sorry."


	3. Creativity Counseling

**Creativity Counseling**

Antonio made sure to be extra quiet as he peeked at the frustrated blue ranger from behind the bushes. He tried to suppress his laugh as Kevin started to write something eagerly and then wasted no time in crossing it out three seconds later.

"Oh, amigo, you try too hard," the gold samurai murmured smilingly.

He grabbed his fishing equipment and walked out in the open, clearing his throat to catch the blue's attention. He made sure to seem totally unaware of Kevin's presence while he whistled casually and rumpled his hair out of habit.

"Antonio!"

Antonio stopped in his tracks. "Oh! Hey, Kevin. How's the poetry going?"

"Where are _you_ going?"

"Fishing." The gold held up his fishing pole and grinned with fake innocence. "As always."

"How many times do you go fishing in a _day_? We have plenty of barracuda."

"I didn't say I was fishing for fish."

Kevin leaned back on his bench as Antonio trudged over and took a seat next to the exhausted ranger. "Looks like you're having fun, amigo. What'd you write this time?"

" _This_ time? This is the first time in _years_ I've attempted to write a poem. You know how terrible my creative skills are." He crossed his arms. "I just don't want to become a fool in front of Mia."

"Don't get upset now, amigo," Antonio assured. "It's really not that bad. Trust me, I've written _tons_ before."

Kevin's disappointment turned into curiosity. "You wrote poems before?"

"Yep. I write and even recite them sometimes when I fish. The fish don't complain."

"That's what you said about your singing. You must be _awesome_ in that case." He gave the gold ranger a hopeful look. "Any tips or suggestions you have for me?"

"I never said I was good at them."

"You must be decent."

"Or that they were in Engli-"

"You still must be decent."

"Didn't Lauren say I can't help-"

"Forget rules."

" _That's_ what I'm talking about," Antonio chuckled enthusiastically and crossed his legs, turning his body to face Kevin. "If it's Spanish poems, I got you. Again, I'm not too sure about English poems."

"It doesn't matter," Kevin assured. "I just need something that sounds somewhat okay and not offensive or stupid in any manner. It can be Spanish, for all I care."

"You think Mia's gonna learn Spanish in one day _just_ to read your poem?"

"You can translate it. Duh."

Antonio smirked. "Gosh, Kevin, you're so desperate. I would love to help, but I can't just do it for _free_. Ya know?"

Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill. He lifted an eyebrow. "What about now?"

Antonio hesitated. "Five dollars is a little too…"

He pulled out another five dollar bill.

"Ten dollars isn't really…"

He pulled out a ten dollar bill this time.

"Done!" The gold ranger snatched the money and fanned himself with it in pleasure. "You're wise, mi amigo."

"So?" Kevin leaned forward. "Anything coming to mind?"

Antonio leaned back on the bench. He gave Kevin an amused look. "You don't need to learn another language to win a girl over. As seductive as Spanish sounds when people speak it sometimes, it's not your only resort."

"Then?"

"Make the reader _connect_ to the poem. In this case, your reader is Mia." He paused. "Wasn't she raised in Japan for a while?"

Kevin frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Antonio grinned. "I would love to explain, Kev, but I think I'm running short on money…"

Kevin placed another ten dollar bill in his hands. Antonio, clearly pleased, leaned forward and, looking both ways to make sure the girls were out of sight, whispered, "If she was raised in Japan, she must have read haikus at some point."

The blue ranger gave him a curious look. "Haikus?"

"You know, the whole 5-7-5 deal?"

A wide smile found its way to Kevin's lips. "I'm listening."

"Haikus don't really have to be creative or have the capacity to be extravagant. Five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. It's short and sweet. Simple but meaningful."

Kevin grew excited. "Sounds like my kind of poem."

"All you have to do is praise Mia's beauty," Antonio added. "Talk about how pretty she is when she laughs or how sparkly her eyes are. Girls _love_ that kind of stuff. Oh, and one more thing: don't talk about makeup. Treading on that path can be dangerous."

"You're a _genius_ , Antonio."

"They don't call me a smarticle for nothing," the gold shrugged. "But I don't think thirty bucks are still enough for such valuable information-"

Kevin shoved a twenty dollar bill in Antonio's hands and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. The gold ranger nearly swooned as his eyes took in the monetary luxury and fanned his way inside the Shiba house with his fifty bucks. He bumped into a surprised Jayden.

"You were successful," the leader said in amusement.

Antonio smiled contently. "At this rate, I just might be a millionaire."

* * *

Jayden stepped out into the garden, his hands in his pockets. The leader kept his eyes eagerly on the lookout for any angry ranger in sight (since that ranger will most likely be Mike, he knew). Even though he had the wish to mess with him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the green's alternating phases of overconfidence and withering confidence. After he stepped out a few more paces into the garden, he could hear grunts, irritated groans, and the ripping of paper. He couldn't hide his smirk as he made his presence public.

"Someone's vexed."

Mike noticed the leader approaching and shifted to one end of the bench, offering Jayden a seat next to him. Jayden beamed knowingly and accompanied the flustered ranger.

"I really don't know why I cared about this to begin with."

Jayden was highly amused by the statement. "That's a question we should be asking you," he replied.

There was a long pause.

"I heard Antonio was bribed into helping Kevin," Mike said softly.

"And?"

"I don't have any money."

"You really think that's why I'm here?"

Mike sighed. "Sorry."

Jayden laughed. "You're such a baby."

The green ranger was surprised. Was this really Jayden who called him that?

"Did you just call me a _baby_?"

"I was a responsible leader up until yesterday," Jayden said in a matter-of-fact manner. "But now, I'm your equal. I can call you however I want."

"Then I'm sure you can leave rules behind, too," Mike said rebelliously. "You wouldn't happen to have any valuable knowledge of your own that can help me, do you?"

"I never told you I was going to break my sister's rules."

"But that's what you _should_ do," Mike smirked. "You were a responsible leader up until yesterday. If you wanna be my equal, you should rebel sometimes."

The red ranger sighed. "Alright. Here's one: don't try to add a lot of fancy words."

Mike frowned. "The reason the girls back there were swooning was _because_ of those fancy words."

"Says who?" Jayden asked. "The girls weren't moved by the words. They were touched by the message. The _feel_ behind it."

"But I can't express those feels."

"Because you haven't tried enough," Jayden remarked. "Let me see the first poem you wrote."

"I threw it away."

The red ranger saw something white sticking out of Mike's jacket pocket. He snatched it quickly.

"That's not-"

"If life was Super Mario, you'd be my Princess Peach… " He shot Mike a long look. "Are you _serious_?"

Mike crossed his arms irritably as Jayden laughed. The leader's face turned as red as his ranger color within seconds.

"Yeah, yeah, I admit it's awful."

"It's not the _way_ it's written that's funny," Jayden began to say before laughing again. "Then again, maybe it is."

"Like that helps."

"But video games? Seriously?"

"Okay, I get it. Stop laughing."

As Jayden finally got himself together, the green ranger crumpled up his paper irritably and laid his head back on the bench. After another long moment, he murmured, "I'm making this a bigger deal than it already is, aren't I?"

Jayden felt his childhood memories kicking in. He had a small, soft smile on his face as he lost himself in those memories. "It's okay to feel that way." He paused. "That's how I felt when I met Jaimie."

Mike gave him a surprised but teasing look. " _Who_ now?"

"Jaimie," Jayden answered. "Lauren's friend."

"Your girlfriend?" Mike asked excitedly. "I never knew you've been seeing girls all this time. Looks like you're not an isolated leader after all."

Jayden gave him another long look.

"Sorry."

The red ranger stood up and stretched. "I haven't been seeing girls," he clarified. "Not only because of the mission, but also because of Jaimie."

"Interesting," Mike said. "Go on."

"I first met her when Lauren and I were still with Dad. She came to watch Lauren train one day. She didn't even notice me the first time she came. For me, it was the first time seeing such a pretty girl."

"The typical attraction phase," Mike described. "Then?"

"She started coming to our house more frequently, but she would never really talk to me. So…"

"So…?"

Jayden chuckled to himself. "I wrote a poem for her."

"Really?" Mike glanced curiously at him. "Do you still remember it? The poem, I mean."

Jayden stretched his arms out. He thought for a moment before reciting, "Roses are red, violets are blue. I think you're cute. What about you?"

"Wow," the green samurai smirked. "Did she like the poem?"

The leader ran his fingers over his left cheek. "If kissing my cheek counts as her liking it."

Mike laughed. "Dude, how old were you again?"

"Six or seven maybe." He turned to face Mike. "But you get my point. Obviously a girl doesn't need fancy words to be impressed."

Mike nodded, but his smile dwindled. "As simple as I want it to be, I still want it to please Emily. I don't really care if I get embarrassed, but what I write should be decent."

Jayden sat next to him. "Then write about something she can relate to as well. Not Super Mario or videogames for sure. Something romantic."

"Like what?"

"Something you probably want to do with her in the future. A first date maybe? A night at the movies? Something like that can make a good poem."

Mike nodded slowly. He definitely had more thinking going on in his brain than before, but he still didn't have a specific idea to ponder about.

"I'll think about it."

Jayden stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "Good luck, then."

As the red ranger began to head back inside, Mike called out to him.

"Jayden!"

Jayden turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks, bro."

The red ranger smiled genuinely. "I can't be your brother if I'm Emily's brother."

Mike laughed, grabbing his pen again.

"And remember, _very few fancy words_. You don't want to sound intelligent…since you're really not."

"Okay…wait, _what_?"

* * *

"As fun as it is to torment them, I feel kind of bad for them," Antonio said as he fanned his face with the fifty bucks and leaned back on the couch.

"I know Mike was really frustrated with it," Jayden said, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "You should have seen his face when he said he didn't have money to bribe me with."

The gold ranger chortled. "That's the power of the gold."

"They've been in the garden all day," Lauren remarked as she grabbed a nearby magazine. "I'm supposed to be having fun with this bet, but it gets boring too quickly."

"Which is why we need to spice it up," Antonio said. "I have a golden idea."

As the trio heard the girls' voices getting louder, Antonio summoned the Shiba siblings to come closer and whispered his idea to them. Lauren seemed to be amused. Jayden's lips curved knowingly.

"The idea sounds good," Lauren said. "But do you really think this will work?"

"No doubt about it, amiga. No one can eavesdrop as well as lovestruck chicos."


	4. Snooping Rangers

**Snooping Rangers**

The blue and green rangers had started losing their morale rapidly. They were making this poetry ordeal a much bigger deal than it was supposed to be. Antonio's thundering snores taunted them to sink into sleep as the seconds passed by as minutes and the minutes evolved into hours. Jayden joined them shortly afterwards, persuading them to turn in for the night and go back to their contemplations the next day. As they attempted to enter the Shiba house with heads faced down and hearts heavy with disappointment, a voice startled them.

"Attraction is a funny thing."

The boys stopped. It was Lauren's voice.

On the other side of the front door, Mia and Emily glanced at Lauren for a brief moment. Lauren, however, widened her smile when she noticed the boys' footsteps suddenly stop after getting so close to the door. She vaguely heard the porch creaking tensely from the boys' weight.

Yep, they were eavesdropping.

"Why do you say that?"

 _Mia's voice_ , Kevin noted.

Lauren sighed, keeping her eyes on the door. She raised her voice purposely. "You never know when you'll fall for a guy."

Mike stopped Kevin and Jayden from setting their feet inside the house and pulled the blue and red rangers to the side. "Girl talk," he whispered.

As much as Mia's voice caught Kevin's attention, the blue ranger sighed wearily. "No, Mike, we're not going to-"

"Oh be _quiet_ , Kev. This is our chance for some inspiration."

Jayden tried his best to hide his smirk. "It's not polite to eavesdrop."

"Who said I was polite?" Mike remarked quietly.

Though Kevin definitely didn't feel comfortable in overhearing the girls, he felt a part of him telling him to stay put and possibly listen to what the pink ranger has to say. What if she talked about him?

"I've always had a question for the two of you," Lauren said to the girls.

Mia played with her fingers, trying to seem dismissive of the idea. Emily's curls fell naturally over her face and blocked her blushing cheeks. Kevin and Mike, meanwhile, straightened up and leaned close to the door.

"How did you two fall for them?"

Mike and Kevin felt chills running down their spines. Jayden couldn't help leaning against the door, trying to hear as well. Mia and Emily grew tense and gave each other brief looks of curiosity.

"My brother doesn't hide anything from me," the female red told the girls smilingly. "He didn't hide your love stories, either."

The blue and green glanced at Jayden. The leader grinned in fake innocence and a slight degree of mockery.

"This isn't right guys," Kevin began as he started walking away to the other side of the house. "I don't see the point-"

"Mia, how did you fall for _Kevin_?" The female red glanced back at the door, raising her voice again. "Is he really _that_ good looking?"

The blue samurai halted in his tracks. Lauren glanced at the front door, noticing the guys' fidgeting grow still.

"I mean, for almost _two_ years- starting from the moment he first tasted your cooking- he had been lying to you with the others about your cooking. I heard it was _his_ idea to hide the truth from you in the first place."

It didn't even take Kevin a second to immediately rub his ear against the door to hear more. His eyes grew as wide as the globe.

Jayden covered his smile with his hand. _Perfect timing, sis,_ he thought.

Mia hugged her knees to her chest and shrugged. "When I found out… I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it. I thought it was really sweet."

Kevin's lips curved upward.

" _Sweet_? He has been deceiving you all this time." She couldn't resist speaking louder. "Any girl would want someone who tells her the _truth_ than someone who makes her a fool in front of others."

Emily felt nervous and slightly guilty. She was one of those who played along, too. Kevin's smile melted.

Mike snickered at the poor blue. "She got you good, Kevvy."

Jayden cleared his throat. _I guess my sister's being too harsh._

"I never felt like a fool," Mia said lightheartedly. "You know… when I first realized how everyone felt about my cooking… I felt like I was the most loved person on the planet. It was really sweet how everyone tried to hide it from me since I was really sensitive."

Kevin's eyes softened.

"It was _especially_ sweet how Kevin complained the least about my cooking and tried my cooking the most. I feel bad for him." She laughed. "I must have tortured him with my experiments."

Kevin chuckled, pressing his ear closer to the door.

"So, I'm going to the culinary academy in two weeks. That way, I can cook something nice for him for once."

Kevin smiled more widely and proudly this time. He felt invincible and jeered at Mike for his previous comment.

"You know," Mia's eyes sparkled as she spoke, "Kevin may think I'm sensitive. But I know he's sensitive, too, when it comes to expressing his feelings."

"But he's definitely naïve," Lauren said. "He still acts like he is dignified and has nothing to do with the romance going on in the Shiba house. It's obvious he likes you in a _much_ different way than he likes the team."

The blue samurai turned away, twiddling with his thumbs. The girls were right, after all.

"And as far as looks go…" Mia blushed when she remembered the first time she met him and how he thought she was the red ranger. "He's…easy on the eyes…"

His cheeks grew warm. Mike nudged him teasingly. Jayden folded his arms, enjoying the guys' reactions.

"Oooh," Emily smiled. "Maybe a little _too_ easy, Mia?"

The pink ranger's face turned the shade of her ranger color.

"It's not like you're off the hook, either, Emily," Lauren said. "Mia may have a reason, but what I don't understand is how you even felt that way about _Mike_ to begin with."

Mike frowned. "Don't tell me she's rooting for me next."

Emily pushed back her curls nervously. "I-"

"It's not easy for a girl to like someone who comments on her weakness really rashly. You know, that whole Negatron incident?"

Mike's expression was horrified. "I'm not _rash_ -mmph!"

"Quiet!" Kevin said, placing his hand over Mike's mouth to silence his yells.

Lauren had to try her best to contain her amusement. She could practically imagine Mike squirming in frustration. "Well, Emily? How was Mike attractive?"

"Ah, Mike," Jayden said, placing one arm over the green ranger's shoulders. "Let's see how you're justified."

Mike glanced at the leader. "You're having _way_ too much Jayden."

"I know."

The yellow ranger smiled widely. "Mike may have been a little curious-"

"Rash, you mean."

Again the green ranger squirmed. "I wasn't _rash_ ," he murmured.

"But in all seriousness… he was right." The yellow ranger shrugged. "He was the first person other than my sister that I actually talked to about my childhood."

 _That_ certainly made Mike feel special.

"And it's hard not to like Mike," Emily added. "He's funny, fun to be around, and hardworking when he needs to be."

The green leaned his head against Kevin's shoulder and sighed dreamily.

"I don't know about all of this." Lauren playfully rolled her eyes. "But I can tell both of you seem confident."

"It's hard not to trust someone like Kevin," Mia stated. "Only we would know how many times we dreamed of having our normal lives again."

"And even though Mike seems to be much of a rebel, he's really not that bad. Plus, it's obvious that he likes me."

Mike rubbed the back of his neck and hid his bashful expression by pretending to be occupied by something on the ground.

"And I do admit it..." the yellow ranger blushed like crazy. "He's quite attractive."

Mike tried not to feel gushy. Kevin simply laughed.

Jayden noticed the boys' struggles to remain quiet for a little longer and cleared his throat sternly. "Let's go guys. It's already getting late."

"But they're not done yet," Mike said, leaning further against the door. "What if…"

As fate would have it, the door suddenly flew open by Mike's weight. The green ranger yelped and tumbled downward next to the girls, Kevin following suit from the shock. Mia, Lauren, and Emily shrieked simultaneously as Kevin tried to hide himself from Mia's view. Jayden facepalmed but couldn't help giving his sister a smirk.

"That was a truly graceful entrance," Lauren said sarcastically. "These are your men, ladies. The one day Mentor's not home and they decide to sneak up on us."

Mia and Emily were flustered as it is, but they grew even more agitated as the boys laughed nervously.

"Looks like you guys were quite inspired," Jayden told the boys mischievously.

Mike glanced at Kevin wearily. "We have a lot of explaining to do, don't we?"

"No doubt about it."


	5. Subconscious Revelations

**Subconscious Revelations**

" _Dance with me."_

The yellow samurai raises her eyebrows. "What?"

"Come on, Em. It'll be fun."

Her nervous but excited eyes glisten brighter than her exquisite yellow dress and pearls. She feels subdued under the green ranger's bold, playful look. Her heart begins to race from the mischievous grin that formed on his lips.

"If it's the waltz or the foxtrot or basic ballroom rumba, I got you somewhat. Salsas? Not so much."

"I don't-"

"If you don't like any of those, we'll go freestyle."

"B-but-"

"No buts. You're coming with me."

He grabs her hand and pulls her forward through the hordes of people. Her fingers quiver slightly, and her legs shake. The ends of her dress tickle her heels and send chills up her spine.

"Mike, everyone's looking at us."

"They're dancing, too."

"But we'll be center stage. We'll have all the attention."

His grin widens. "Never mind them. Think of it as just us now."

As exhilarating it is for her when he holds her hand, she can't help but be vanquished by the many eyes that stared at them. It doesn't help that she's soft-hearted and sensitive, either. "It's hard to think that in front of a million people."

He doesn't let go of her hand but stops when they reach their destination and faces her. "Don't you _wanna_ dance?"

Emily stutters, pushing her curls back nervously. "Well… I mean…I'm wearing heels and I might trip. You know clumsy I can be-"

"I know you too well, Em." He smirks. "I'll be your hero for the day. I can't cover up falls real good, though."

She grows flustered. "It's not just that…I'm not very good at dancing."

"Who said I was?" He shrugs playfully. "Just wing it."

" _Wing_ it?"

"Wing it. Forget about the people around us." His other hand slips easily around her waist. Music starts to play slowly in the background. He looks deep into her eyes, which grow increasingly nervous.

"You trust me, don't you?"

She nods. He leans forward until their lips are only centimeters apart.

"It helps if you look at me."

She blushes harder and looks up. "It helps if you don't look at me so boldly."

"Why?" he says with fake innocence.

"It's just…" she sighs and smiles softly. "You have no idea what you do to me with that look."

He chuckles as the couples around them meander into their moves. _Smooth_ , his conscience whispers.

"You can't complain if I step on your foot a lot," the yellow ranger said quietly.

"I don't need to complain. I'll be the one stepping on your foot." He grins goofily. "I know you won't mind."

She laughs and places her free hand on his shoulder. Her soft fingers brush against the fabric of his tuxedo and cause his heartbeat to jolt. Though hesitant, she lays her head against his chest.

Everything is _perfect_.

"Mike! Mike! Let go of me!"

The green ranger opens his eyes and stares in horror at his arms, now wrapped around a flailing Kevin. He immediately lets go and winces as the nearby pen and paper scratch his face. The blue ranger sits up and glares at him, obviously grossed out.

"Are you _sure_ you're the type that's into girls, Mike?"

"What's that supposed to… _what_?!"

Kevin yawns disinterestedly. "I'm just messing with you. Go to sleep and stop dreaming about cuddling with Emily. You can do that when you two are officially together." He shifts farther away from Mike and gives him a cautious look. "And don't come closer…just to be safe."

Mike scoffs. "'Cause you're obviously _so_ attractive that you're the only male _and_ female heartthrob in the nation."

The blue glares at him.

"Sorry."

Mike collapses back on the bed, not failing to bury himself under his pillow despite the lightbulb that flashed in his brain. He grabs a pen and grins as he begins his best attempt at poetry yet.

"No wonder everything was perfect," the green mumbled with lingering disappointment.

* * *

They were walking through a garden- a _huge_ garden equal in beauty compared to the Garden of Eden. Her fingers were lightly brushing over all types of flowers as she walked along the garden trail. The sunset was encased in harmonies of pink and orange which dipped into plains of sherbet and purplish-yellow. The colors grew especially beautiful once they shone upon Mia's flowery braid.

"I just _love_ flowers."

Kevin smiled at her enthusiasm and placed his hands in his pockets. "What's your favorite?"

"I don't really have a favorite." She picked up a handful of purple flowers and took in their sweet fragrance. "All of them have a specialty."

"Aren't those lavenders?"

She smirked. "I thought you said you didn't know about flowers that much."

"I can spot lavenders from anywhere." He grabbed a few. "They're my favorite."

Her smile widened. "Really?"

"Well, humans can't be flowers. If they could, you'd be my favorite."

She blushed deeply. He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head and spotting another bush with similar flowers. "Those look similar to these, but they're not lavenders."

She snapped out of her trance. "They're lilacs," she explained. "It's easy to get them both confused."

"Yeah."

The flower petals broke away and balleted in the air, riding the winds to another type of bush nearby.

"Oh!" She rushed over to the bush. "Carnations!"

His lips curved into a small smile. Even though he was a million light years apart from flowers other than lavenders, he couldn't help thinking they were more beautiful in Mia's presence. He followed her, taking his time as Mia marveled at the different hued carnations and their colorful neighbors- the lilies.

"They even have tiger lilies here!" she beamed, petting a set of orange flowers. "They don't have the best fragrance, but they're really pretty."

Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Tiger lilies? Are those even a type of flower?"

"You haven't heard of tiger lilies?" Mia said. "You're missing out."

"The only Tiger Lily I know of is the one off of Peter Pan."

She laughed as her hands dipped into the next bush- one of sunflowers. The yellow petals graced her milky tan skin and tickled the tips of her fingers. She reached down and plucked a few farther down the trail.

"Sunflowers make me smile all the time." She ran her fingers across their smooth petals. "Whenever I spend my time at the city orphanage, the kids and I would pick a bunch of these in the nearby fields."

Kevin's eyes softened. He, too, plucks a sunflower and smells it. "It doesn't have a definite scent."

"Different types have different smells," Mia said, her smile widening as her cardigan brushed past a rosebush. "Unlike roses."

"Wait, don't pick them yet."

Mia watched in amusement as the blue ranger inspected the rosebush and carefully plucked a pink one. "Gotta watch out for those thorns- ouch!"

She chuckled, carefully taking the rose from him and examining his finger. "Looks like you have to watch out, too, Kevin."

"It doesn't hurt _that_ much," he said sheepishly. "And besides, flowers and I never got along anyway."

The pink ranger grabbed a few lavenders from her collection of flowers and placed them behind the blue ranger's ear and laughed. "See? It's not so bad."

He sighed, trying to be disinterested but melting easily from her laughter. "The sun makes them look real shiny."

"They're almost as shiny as the gold medal you'll receive in the Olympics."

He couldn't help what happened next. His rough lips gently brushed against her soft, pearly cheek. She blushed, absentmindedly plucking the petals off of the flowers as his lips lingered where they were for a second kiss on the cheek. He pulled away after a few moments, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"W-what was that for?"

"Just because."

"You have to have a reason."

"I don't need a reason." Though somewhat bashful, he leaned forward, expecting another peck on the cheek, but Mia blew the flower petals in her hand onto his face to distract him and raced away, laughing.

"Mia, come back!"

"Catch me!"

"Mia, wait! Mia!"

"Gross! I'm not Mia!"

Kevin shot his eyes open and yelped, pushing Mike away of him. " _Mike_!"

Mike stretched his arm. "Don't blame me. I was just minding my business until you snatched my poem in your sleep and attacked me."

The blue ranger rubbed his eyes and gave Mike his poem back. "I'm sorry."

Mike smirked. "I understand how you feel, Kevvy. Your romantic dreams aren't new."

Kevin grew agitated. "It wasn't a romantic-"

"Lavenders, lilies, lilacs… yep, you've gone too far."

"I wasn't-"

"It's hard to see you as a romantic Kev, but I gotta say, you're not half bad."

"I-"

"Yeah, yeah, just go back to sleep."

"I can't anymore," the blue sighed. Despite so, he couldn't hide the smile that was threatening to take over his lips. He _finally_ had an idea for his poem. He grabbed his notebook and turned to a new page.

"Inspired, I see," the green chuckled.

Kevin smirked. "Not as quickly as you were, but yeah."


	6. Matchmaking

**Matchmaking**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived with my masterpiece." Mike beamed proudly and flailed his paper in the air. Emily smiled widely. As bad as Mike was with words, she couldn't help wondering what he had to say.

"Someone's confident," Jayden smirked, his glance lingering elsewhere. "Then again, someone isn't."

The rangers stared at the nervous blue who pretended like everything was totally under control once he noticed their stares. Even though he felt really good about what he wrote, he couldn't help worrying about their reactions. Swimming and writing poetry were on two totally opposite planes of the universe. Mia assured him with a small smile.

"I'm feeling great," Kevin said, trying to hide his apprehension. "Mia's gonna love it."

"She's gonna love it no matter what thanks to being attracted to you," Antonio said frankly, nudging the pink ranger. "Am I right, hermanita?"

And again, Mia couldn't help the situation but blush.

"So you're sure you're actually up for this?" Lauren asked the boys. "Ready to lose the bet?"

" _You_ get ready to lose the bet," Mike said confidently.

"Yeah," Kevin added weakly. "What he said."

Jayden and Antonio looked knowingly at each other. Mia and Emily felt their heartbeats speed up as the guys gazed at their respective ladies. A moment of awkwardness rose once the question of who was going to go first came up.

Kevin pushed the green ranger forward. "I volunteer Mike as tribute."

" _Hey_!"

Lauren smiled sinisterly. "Ready to give it a shot? Or do you need a second to contain yourself?"

Mike laughed nervously, trying to retain his confidence. "Nah, I'm good. I was just… saving the best for last."

"Sí, that's _totally_ your intention, amigo," Antonio chuckled.

Mike slowly pulled out the piece of paper in his pocket and glanced over it. He shoved it back in his pocket and took a deep breath.

"Isn't that sweet? He has it _memorized_ ," Antonio laughed.

Emily kept her gaze firmly on him. She gave him a thumbs-up and beamed proudly at him even before he began. He nodded and grinned, and they both locked eyes.

Lauren took a seat on the couch. "This will be a long day."

"Hurry up, amigo, you can have staring contests later."

Mike snapped out of his trance. He looked to Kevin for some support. Though Kevin was known for being Mike's ultimate teaser, he couldn't resist flashing him a thumbs up. The green ranger's grin widened and he began.

 _Emily, wanna dance?_

 _Grab my hand when you have the chance._

 _We'll dive and strut and frisk around._

 _It's not too late to prance._

 _Let's forget the music_

 _And chant sweet words, nothing else,_

 _And have no time for a second glance._

 _Waltzes and tangos and salsas_

 _As far as the limit of expanse._

 _You and me._ _Yellow to green._

 _Grace to chaos-_

 _Caught in a trance._

 _Together in every move a_ _nd every circumstance,_

 _We'll be busier than the streets of France._

 _Dips and swirls,_

 _Eyes as sparkly as pearls,_

 _There's nothing else for us to enhance_

 _Other than the beat._ _So take your stance._

 _It's a ritual of romance._

"Oooooh…."

Kevin dropped his poem in shock. Jayden nodded, impressed. Lauren wasn't too moved, but she couldn't resist a chuckle. Mia nudged Emily, who kept smiling widely and playing with her blonde curls. Antonio, meanwhile, just laughed.

"That was pretty good for a first attempt, amigo," he said. "But there were places where it could be tweaked."

Mike looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"Woah woah, just kidding."

Mike occasionally peeked at the yellow ranger, who was still trying to get herself together from the overwhelming emotion she felt.

"It's obvious the recipient of the poem likes it," Jayden said.

Emily blushed.

"She's not saying anything, though…is she?" Antonio taunted, checking for any change in her expression.

The yellow forgot the entire world around her as she slowly made her way over to the green ranger. Mike grew exhilarated but nervous at the same time. He couldn't read the expression on her features, which made him even more nervous.

"I know it's not the best," the green admitted with a sigh. Emily's reaction worried him, and he wasn't going to make his pride get in the way of Emily accepting him.

Emily grew amused at his suddenly wavering confidence. It was the first time someone had even attempted such a challenge for her in the first place. She never felt so strongly about someone like this other than her sister. Not to mention that she actually liked the way his confidence quivered for her.

"I understand if you don't like it, Em. It had… awkward wording in some places and kind of felt a little-"

Emily's lips brushed against his cheek in a matter of seconds, her hand placed on his shoulder.

" _Ooooh_!" Lauren, Jayden, and Antonio chanted.

She pulled away after a few mute moments, her cheeks crimsoning.

Mike, on the other hand, was speechless. His fingers traced his left cheek, where her lips had been milliseconds ago.

"Don't insult the poem my boyfriend wrote for me," Emily pouted.

Mia chuckled. Kevin placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head in amusement. Antonio and the Shiba siblings smirked. Mike grinned goofily and also gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Great," Lauren interrupted the blushing couple. "You two are finally together, but that doesn't mean you won the bet yet. Lauren looked at Kevin. "We still have another poem to hear, and it better be good."

"You had to ruin the moment, did you?"

Lauren smirked. "I'm no matchmaker, Mike."

Mike groaned at the blue ranger. "Don't fail now, Kev."

Kevin grinned nervously. "Uh…okay…" He unfolded his paper, his fingers shaking.

"You didn't memorize _yours_?" Antonio taunted.

Poor Kevin couldn't help being flustered as Mia tried to hold back her laugh. Emily giggled, and Mike raised his eyebrows in superiority.

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome," the mighty green remarked.

"It's pretty long…" the blue samurai explained quietly.

"Oh boy," Lauren sighed. "Well, it's now or never."

Kevin cleared his throat and looked at nothing but his paper, but he couldn't help smiling as he pictured Mia's warm smile springing forth from his messy handwriting and inserted arrows. As the light played with his paper, he felt that he could see the reflection of Mia's sparkling eyes for a split moment in time.

 _The skies and the oceans once asked me_

 _What my favorite flower was to be._

 _They chased me day and night_

 _And even by twilight._

 _One day, I saw a girl. And I knew what my flower was gonna be._

 _She's a daisy, symbolic of newborn love._

 _She's a jasmine. Heart as white as a dove._

 _She's a sunflower. An early morning delight._

 _She's a moonflower- the talisman of the night._

 _She's a tulip, the sweetest charm of the day._

 _She's a lilac, tender and perfect in every possible way._

 _She's a lavender, the queen of elegance._

 _She's an iris, the master of eloquence._

 _She's a lily- passion on fire._

 _She's the rose of my love. What else can I desire?_

 _And so, I told those skies and oceans_

 _In my most intimate hour_

 _That Mia was my favorite flower._

Kevin looked up nervously. "Uh…that's it…"

Jayden's mouth hung open. Antonio laid his head dramatically on Jayden's shoulders, pretending to swoon. Lauren didn't seem at all convinced that he was the one who wrote the poem.

"I'm jealous, Kevin," Emily sighed. "You write so well. You are _so_ sweet!"

"Cheater," Mike yelled. "You can't write _that_ good."

"I _did_ write it-"

"You plagiarized," Lauren decreed. "I can tell."

"Maybe I used the dictionary to make some words sound fancy and maybe I looked up a few different types of flowers, but I didn't plagiarize! I _swear_." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I thought girls would like flowers so I decided to do something like-"

"Whatever," Mike mumbled. "That was… _too_ good… for a first attempt."

"Mia's _gotta_ like that one," Antonio breathed in exaggeration. "Don't you, hermanita?"

But the rangers were surprised to see the moisture in Mia's eyes. She didn't look like she was on the verge of tears, but her eyes were really glassy. She played with her necklace and didn't meet anyone in the eyes. Emily placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, smiling.

 _It can't be_ that _awful,_ Kevin thought worriedly.

"Look what you did, Kev," Mike said, though it was obvious that Mia's tears were tears of joy.

"Mia…I'm sorry…" Kevin panicked, stepping closer to her. "I wasn't trying to offend you, I just… I don't know much about poems and…I thought-"

He was interrupted with a hug. Mia's arms were wrapped firmly around him, and her head brushed against his chest. She smiled warmly as Kevin's agitated expression melted into a mixture of shock and delight. He eventually relaxed and returned the hug more tightly. The rangers clapped and cheered. The floral scent of Mia's hair soothed the nervous blue.

Mike placed his hand around Emily's shoulder and shot his hand up in the air. "Yeah, go Kevvy!"

Lauren smiled, crossing her arms. "Looks like you guys did manage to pull off something."

"Pull off something? We conquered this bet," Kevin said.

"So what's in it for us?" Mike asked victoriously. "Since you were so confident that we were gonna lose, you didn't say anything about us winning."

"Eh, that's not important," Lauren said. "We were all sick and tired of seeing your dragging love episodes, and we decided to end it all and get you guys together."

"So you _were_ a matchmaker."

"I had a little help from my brothers," she smiled at Jayden and Antonio.

The rangers didn't have much longer to relish their victories. In matter of seconds, Mentor walked into the Shiba house. Upon taking off his bike helmet, he glanced at the rangers. Mike and Emily let go of each other's hands. Mia and Kevin pulled away from their hug.

"Something just happened here, did it?" he asked.

"Nothing bad," Jayden smiled.

Ji raised his eyebrows at the smiling couples. "Well, it's about time."

The rangers laughed.

"But don't think I'm amused," he sighed, heading towards his room and hiding his smile. "The one day I'm out of the house and I find myself walking into a matchmaking television show."

"Yep," Mike said as he left. "He's amused."

"I think this calls for a fiesta," Antonio announced.

"You think _everything_ calls for a fiesta," Mike responded, smiling at Emily. "But I'm not gonna complain."

"We'll leave the house to you guys," Lauren suggested. Her mind began drifting towards Noah as the lovey-dovey atmosphere in the Shiba house got the best of her. "I have… something to take care of."

"I needed to see Daisuke anyway later today," Jayden said as an excuse. In reality, he had important business to do with his sister's phone. Perhaps even look up a certain person's phone number…

"And what can singles like me and Mentor do?" Antonio shrugged disinterestedly. "We'll go fishing."


	7. Rangers in Love

**Rangers in Love**

Jayden stepped ever so carefully into Lauren's room. He turned this way and that, making sure that his sister was nowhere to be seen. He proceeded after gawking at all corners of the room and mentally deciding on what excuse to give his sister in case she walked in on him snooping through her phone. He dug through her purse and found his desired object. His fingers raced to tap into the phone.

' _She needs to have a password for her phone,'_ Jayden thought. ' _Or snoopers will easily tap into her phone_.'

 _Like that's_ totally _not what you're doing_ , his conscience remarked to his annoyance.

He was a little surprised to see five missed calls from a contact titled Noah in a span of ten minutes. He shrugged away every ounce of curiosity, and his fingers got to work. He tapped on the contacts icon and scrolled down quickly to the J's.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he murmured. "Jayden, Ji, Jessica, Julie…" He paused and smiled when he found what he was looking for. " _Jaimie_."

He immediately pulled out his phone from his pocket. Again, he double checked to see if his sister was somehow lingering by the door. She wasn't. He made a new contact on his phone and entered the number at the speed of light. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned off his sister's phone.

"What are you doing?"

He jumped, startled. "Oh…h-hey, sis…"

Lauren leaned against her doorway. "What are you doing with my phone?"

"I…uh…what would I do with your phone? I heard it ringing and thought I would check it for you… you know, since you weren't in your room."

Lauren's smirk turned to curiosity. "A phone call? For me?"

"Uh…yeah…" Jayden quickly handed the phone back to her. "Some guy named Noah."

Lauren's cheeks grew slightly warm. "N-Noah?"

Jayden shrugged and raced out of the room without making it seem like he was racing out of the room, sighing in relief in the process. Lauren quickly scrolled through her call log and felt her heartbeat speed up as she saw that he called her five times. He even left a voicemail.

 _Hey, Lauren. Um…I know you're busy right now, but I just wanted to talk to you. To see how you're doing. I know you're coming back next week, and I can't wait to see you. Please call me if you have a chance and...yeah. Noah._

Lauren smiled as she scrolled further through her call log and glanced affectionately at his number. She didn't hesitate to let her fingers freely dial the long-memorized number that tickled her after all these days- not before closing her bedroom door, of course.

* * *

"Let's go fishing, Mentor."

Mentor didn't look up from writing. "Like that's just what I need."

"But we promised the lovebirds they can have the Shiba house to themselves so they can hang out for a while."

Mentor shot Antonio a look. "Who made _that_ decision?"

The Latino shrugged. "Everybody I guess."

"Everybody but me."

"But the war's over," Antonio said, taking a seat next to Ji. "I figured you'd want them to be together now."

"I do," Ji sighed. "But the Shiba house is not the place for all of that. Just because the war's over now doesn't mean the nighlok will never show up again."

"Just because the war's over doesn't mean the nighlok are going to keep showing up every five seconds."

Mentor knew Antonio was winning this word battle.

"You can go if you want to. I have a lot of work to do," Ji said.

"Like what? Sitting here and not preparing for the next nighlok attack?"

Ji gave Antonio a good long stare.

"Oh, come on, Mentor, it'll be fun."

Mentor put down the calligraphy brush. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to hang out with Antonio for once. The rangers were going to leave next week, and it was about time he had some fun with the rangers.

"Who told you I was good at fishing? That's the only thing I can't do."

Antonio smiled. "Who said we're gonna fish for fish?"

* * *

The Shiba house was quiet. Lauren had been talking to someone on the phone since late afternoon and left just a few minutes ago for the park without breaking her conversation. Jayden had left "to see Daisuke", and Mentor and Antonio left to go fishing. The very garden bench that faced Mike's wrath just the day before was now the witness to the sweet nothings the green and yellow rangers were whispering. Mike was sprawled out on the side of the bench while Emily leaned over the other side and rested her head in her hands. The moonlight was more than obliged to shine its silver light upon the two of them.

"Say that poem again."

He gawked at her, amused. "You expect me to memorize that poem for the rest of my life?"

She smirked. "You didn't have to memorize it for the bet, though."

"But… that's because…"

"Never mind." Her eyes sparkled as the moonlight bathed her in its cooling grace. "I have to say… you surprised me today."

"I'm sure Kevin surprised you more," he said dismissively.

She frowned. "I can't believe you're getting jealous of Kevin now. He's like my brother. Even Antonio knows that, and he's almost _never_ here."

"I'm not jealous," the green ranger mumbled, looking out at the night sky.

Emily hugged her knees to her chest and glanced at him, softening her eyes. "You don't need to be jealous anymore," she breathed softly. "I feel the same way you do. Didn't I make it clear?"

His cheeks grew warm. "Yeah…but I'm still restless. I mean…you're beautiful and nice and cheerful… Miss Perfection…anybody can fall for you."

She smiled in amusement. "What makes you feel less special?"

"Me? Special?" Mike scoffed. " _Please_. I'm rebellious, way too cocky, inferior at training. Not to mention, I pretty much bashed you that time when you felt insecure because of Negatron." He looked back at her expectantly.

"You're right," she agreed. "Why _did_ I fall for you in the first place?"

He pouted defensively.

"I'm just teasing," she laughed. She placed her head on his shoulder and linked her arm with his. Mike breathed in the scent of her soft hair and smiled.

"Your training doesn't matter to me, Mike. Good or bad, you're still worth more than Bruce Lee," she murmured smilingly. "And your attitude? I won't say it's _too_ immature."

He wrapped his arms around her, pleased. "And…?"

"You're creative. Fun to be around. Funny."

"Keep it coming."

She raised her eyebrows, amused by his increasing cockiness. "Well… you're nice-"

"You kind of implied that already."

"What else can I say?" she said, fiddling with her fingers as her curls flew in the night breeze. "I'm a girl, you know. Guys should be making the move in stuff like this."

"What? I'm just getting something in return for winning the bet."

"By making me praise you?"

She gasped in surprise as he jumped away from her grasp and held his hand out with a goofy smile on his lips. "How 'bout a dance, then?"

"That's not what I meant by making a move-"

She yelped as he grabbed her hand and whisked her into a waltz position. He smirked, his eyebrows raised.

"How 'bout now?"

Emily always failed at being serious with him, and today was no exception. She sighed. "Where's the music?"

"That's why iphones were invented, Em." He reached into his pocket and quickly hit shuffle on his music playlist. He quickly skipped through a few dubstep beats and rapid Latin dance music before settling on a slow song.

"Someone's prepared."

"Since my dream last night."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Her eyes sparkled. "You're not the slow dance type."

"But you are."

She gave him a good long look before her lips slowly curved into a wide grin. A grin that matched the one she gave him in his dream. It charmed Mike. Though she still retained her innocence, she had a lot more confidence with herself compared to the beginning of their samurai journey. Her hands made their way around his neck, and her cheeks turned pink. He wrapped his hands around her hips. Well, not before tickling them and sending her into waves of laughter.

"I can't dance too well," she giggled. "I might step on your feet."

"I would have taught you if I knew how to dance properly, so I'll be stepping on your feet, too."

"Then why did you want to dance?"

"It's a free country," he shrugged. "I can dance with my girlfriend anytime I feel like it."

Again, she laughed as the music drifted them into a clumsy rendition of what was supposed to be a waltz. The couple waltzed their night away with the moonlight as the guide to their every footstep. What made it even more memorable was Mike's chanting of the poem in her ear each time he caught her fall.

* * *

The waters of the pier were restless, but they were his only companion. He was alone, and he made sure multiple times that he really was. It was much better than locking his bedroom door and getting caught somehow or another by someone, most likely Mike. He took a seat on the bench as the night camouflaged him into the darkness and quickly pulled out his phone.

' _Should I really do this?'_

 _Yes._

He took a deep breath. _'I don't see how it will help me.'_

 _I don't see how it'll hurt you._

He nodded to himself and dialed the ten magical digits that would turn the tables forever. This crazy attraction he had for this woman was going to be classified as a silly crush or a legitimate feeling once her voice appears on the other end of the line.

" _Hello?"_

He felt something tug in his chest. He didn't really know what so say.

" _Hello? Is anyone there?"_

He nervously dribbled his fingers on the bench. "Roses are red, violets are blue. I think you're cute. What about you?"

The steady breathing on the other end of the line grew to a sharp pause. A pleasant gasp, almost. _"J-Jayden?"_

And he smiled.

* * *

The last time Kevin had ever been charming to anyone dated back to prehistoric times…until he met Mia. The pink ranger's enthusiasm for her Prince Charming seemed to have woken up the snoring romantic in the Kevin's heart. Even Mike was wary of his newfound charm, constantly making sure Emily was away from the blue samurai.

But when it comes to charm, sometimes Kevin is clueless. Of all the romantic places he could think of, he stuck with the dojo.

Since Mike and Emily were settled in the garden, it was the only other place that will have to do. Kevin and Mia sat next to the window and faced opposite directions, their backs touching and their lips smiling. A game of 20 questions stirred occasional laughs from the two and kept them occupied without making either of them seem too uncomfortable or prone to sinking into the other's eyes. After all, it had only been a few hours since they became an official couple.

Mia let her fingers run through he stuffed panda's soft fur as she thought of the last question to ask Kevin.

"Ooh, I got one. And this will _really_ be tough."

"I think I can handle it," he said confidently.

"If you could identify me with any Disney character, who would it be and why?"

She expected Kevin to sigh or groan. He wasn't the one for Disney characters, and it was really fun to tease him about things like that. Every corner of the Shiba house also knew that he least desired anything associated with childish or sappily-romantic aspects, but this cover was easily blown off when he exposed his poetry skills in front of the rangers.

"That's easy," he dismissed to her surprise. "Princess Mei."

She raised her eyebrows. "Who?"

"Princess Mei," he repeated as if it was the most obvious character known to civilization. "You know, that princess with the pink dress in Mulan II. You were watching it not too long ago with Emily."

"Oh, yeah…" she nodded slowly.

"I think she is the perfect description of you. And no, it's not just because she's Asian and wears pink."

She smiled in amusement. "I thought you weren't paying attention to the movie that day."

He shrugged, breaking away from their position to glance at her. "I was paying attention to you while you were paying attention to the tv screen."

Mia blinked for a few moments before realizing her voice was stuck in her throat. She went back to fondling her stuffed panda, hugging her legs close to her chest while Kevin traced the window panes.

"Right now, you look _just_ like her," he observed. "Panda bear and all. You just need to fix your hair and wear some pink robes and you'll be her look-alike."

"I kind of half-expected you to say Mulan was most like me."

He shook his head. "Nah. She's too… outspoken. You need to be represented by a more gentle character. Someone more graceful and peaceful and prettier like you."

Mia couldn't help the thrilling chill that shot up her spine. Kevin rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"I thought I knew a lot about you Kevin," she smiled. "But you surprise me every day."

"In a good way, I hope."

"In a _great_ way."

The moonlight crept inside elusively and blew the Asian's hair over his face. He smiled and breathed in its sakura blossom fragrance. Mia quickly tried to pull her hair back, her fingers accidently brushing against his cheek. It seemed that both of them were having trouble getting used to the fact that they were an official couple now. Their cheeks kept crimsoning for nothing.

"Cherry blossom," Kevin noted.

"How come you're into flowers today?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

She smiled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Can I read your poem again?"

There was a pause.

"What?" she asked expectantly.

"It's…kind of sloppy."

She sighed and broke away from their sitting position, grabbing the poem from his hands. He didn't protest. He held onto her stuffed panda while her sparkling eyes skimmed over the arrow marks and dashes that obliterated some words and left some exposed. Her smile widened every time she finished a particular line or phrase she liked best.

Kevin tried to hide his face with the stuffed panda's large arm. He couldn't believe that he was the one who wrote it. He didn't know how the words flew perfectly out of his lips and found their way upon paper in the wee hours of the night. He absentmindedly reached out of the open window and plucked a small, newly bloomed rose from the rosebush.

"You know," Mia said softly as she folded his poem and placed it aside. "You kind of resemble Yao."

"Mei's love interest? Please, you're just saying that since I compared you to Mei."

"No, honest." She placed her hand upon his stretched out palm. "People would least expect him to be the romantic one. They just think he's tough inside and out." She leaned her head on his shoulder, much to his contentment. "But no one really knows how charming he can be. Not to mention you brought me a panda like he did."

"Good answer." He broke away from their position and took the courage to carefully brush his fingers against her hair. When she didn't show any sign of uneasiness, he placed the rose in his hand into the folds of her ebony hair- well, not before tracing her cheek with the rose first. He placed a quick kiss on her cheek just as he had done in his dream. He could feel her smiling.

He placed his hand over her shoulder and smiled widely as she leaned back on his shoulder. The stuffed panda rested against their intertwined hands.

"What was that for?"

"To congratulate you."

The pink ranger glanced at him. "For what?"

"It's our three-hour anniversary of being a couple."

She laughed, shaking her head in amusement.

"Now, Mia, don't forget to give me a kiss for the three-hour one-minute anniversary."

* * *

"I caught something!"

The gold ranger pulled the fishing line in with utmost exaggeration. He wasn't surprised, however, when he reeled in an old boot. It was the third time he caught a boot in a span of thirty minutes.

"Gosh, what do people do all day to lose their boots in the water so much… and in the _same_ pier?"

Mentor didn't respond. He wasn't having too much luck, either. He caught about five soda cans, two water bottles, a worn out sock, a plastic bag, and piece of candy that wasn't opened.

"I told you I wasn't good at this," Ji mumbled.

"Who said I was good the first couple of times I tried?" Antonio said as he unhooked the boot. "And besides, this pier isn't exactly the cleanest one around here."

"It was pretty clean when I came here."

"Like when? A hundred years ago?"

Ji glared at him.

"Lo siento."

After a long and awkward silence, Mentor sighed, thinking of something to strike up a conversation. "How did you become best friends with Jayden anyway? You're his total opposite."

"Opposites attract."

Mentor frowned. "Say it clearly. That sounded wrong."

" _What_? No, not _that_ way!" Antonio groaned. "I meant that-"

"Yeah, I know what you meant."

Antonio couldn't help smirking. "Since when did you start taking things the wrong way, Mentor?"

Mentor rolled his eyes. "I'm just messing with you. Besides, I'm just trying to save your skin since you still need to get used to how to word things a little differently…especially when it comes to slang. Not everything works like Spanish."

"You know _slang_ , too?"

Ji cleared his throat, pretending to be disinterested in the conversation.

Antonio dropped his fishing line back in the water. "I'm sure you were kinda like me when you were younger," he said smilingly. "No teenager can ever resist certain things in this world."

Mentor straightened up as he caught something. He started to reel in his fishing line quickly. "I was always trained and supervised by my authorities. I had no time for relationships or such fantasies."

"It's not too late…" Antonio said in a sing-songy voice, nudging the master.

"I'm not amused," he answered sharply. "But you know…the majority of the rangers are caught up in their love lives now that the war is over. Don't you have anyone you're seeing?"

"Haha! Good one, Mentor."

"I'm serious." He paused. "Is it because you've had a bad break up recently or-"

"I've never been in a relationship," he clarified, shrugging. "I'm just not ready for any of that. Sure I flirt with some girls but that's only to get some attention to my fish business. Fish are my one true love. There's much more to life than girls."

"So what are you going to do after next week? Go back to that inefficient fish business?"

"Nah," he shrugged. "I'm going on a world tour."

Mentor's eyes widened. "A world tour?"

"A fishing expedition where I get to travel, yeah."

"And you're not excited?"

"I got accepted about a week ago," Antonio said. "I experienced my excitement already."

"Did you tell the others?" Ji inquired.

"Nope. I'll tell them next week."

Mentor smiled. "As cocky as you are, I like how you're focused on your future."

"Yeah, I'm awesome."

As Antonio chuckled in his goofy manner, Mentor couldn't help feeling a fatherly affection towards him. An unknown void has filled his heart. He had been worried about what the poor gold was going to do with his life, especially since he was really goofy and rarely took things (other than samurai issues) seriously. And that fish business of his? Nothing less than fifty bucks a month. And what would _that_ get him?

"Aren't you excited for me?" Antonio beamed. "I'm getting excited all over again."

Mentor's smile widened. "Of course."

Another awkward silence followed.

"So, Mentor, you caught anything yet?"


End file.
